Science

By age 3, kids already have a burgeoning sense of empathy, ownership and justice.

That's Not Fair! Crime And Punishment In A Preschooler's Mind

10:59am June 24, 2015

by Nadia Whitehead

Children as young as 3 years old will step in to right the wrong if they see someone being mistreated, a study finds. But they aren't as keen as 5-year-olds to dole out punishment.

Unless there's a serious pileup, ants in traffic tend to bypass a collision and just keep going. A physicist has found a way to model this behavior with a mathematical equation.

Why Ants Handle Traffic Better Than You Do

10:52am June 24, 2015

by Joe Palca

Ants don't show road rage. In fact, some research shows they rarely get into traffic jams and are able to maintain a steady speed even as their numbers swell. Can physics explain it?

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Review Raises Troubling Questions About Marijuana's Safety, Effectiveness

8:05am June 24, 2015

by Patti Neighmond

A report finds mixed results when it comes to how well medical marijuana works to calm pain and control symptoms. And, an editorial says states legalizing pot for medical use may be jumping the gun.

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Retired California school teacher Mikkel Lawrence sits with his cat, Max. Lawrence has hepatitis C and has struggled to afford the medicine he needs to treat it.

Covered California Votes To Cap What Patients Pay For Pricey Drugs

5:30am June 24, 2015

by April Dembosky

The agency that administers Obamacare in California moved to make expensive medicines more affordable in 2016. In most plans, patients will pay no more than $150 or $250 a month.

Linda McGuigan, lab manager of the American Chestnut Research & Restoration Project, examines a batch of transgenic American chestnut plantlets in a high-light chamber.

Once And Future Nut: How Genetic Engineering May Bring Back Chestnuts

5:58pm June 23, 2015

by Jill Neimark

The American chestnut is poised to return — as a bionic, blight-resistant tree. Scientists hope to plant about 10,000 transgenic plantlets to pollinate trees in the "wild."

Farmer Efi Cohen inspects almond trees on a kibbutz south of Jerusalem. The Israeli government says it's safe to use treated sewage water to irrigate tree fruit, but not all crops.

Israel Bets On Recycled Water To Meet Its Growing Thirst

2:19pm June 23, 2015

by Emily Harris

Treated sewage water accounts for half the water used by Israel's farms. Entrepreneurs are experimenting with ways to cut costs and to ensure that the 86 percent of wastewater that's recycled is safe.

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A "cluster of mysterious bright spots" can be seen on the dwarf planet Ceres, NASA says. The image was taken by the Dawn spacecraft, in orbit of Ceres.

NASA Flummoxed By Dwarf Planet's Bright Spots, 'Pyramid-Shaped Peak'

1:01pm June 23, 2015

by Bill Chappell

The view captured by the Dawn spacecraft this month "shows even more small spots in the crater than were previously visible," NASA says.

Examining Race-Based Admissions Bans On Medical Schools

8:10am June 23, 2015

by Shankar Vedantam

Researchers explored the effects of black and Latino graduation rates from medical school, following a ban on race conscious admissions policies in several states.

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In the current version of the Fitnet App, the camera of an exerciser's smartphone captures data from him (upper left), while a prerecorded trainer guides him through a workout. A clock (bottom center) shows elapsed time. The orange dots (upper left) indic

Fitness App Aims To Deliver Live Feedback From A Personal Trainer 24/7

7:31am June 23, 2015

by Alison Bruzek

The Fitnet app uses your phone's camera to analyze your workout and give feedback. Next step is a live trainer on the other end. The hitch: Your Internet speed likely needs to be 40 times faster.

EPA Official: Decisions On Climate Change Will Affect Economic Future Of U.S.

10:32pm June 22, 2015

NPR's Melissa Block interviews Environmental Protection Agency administrator Gina McCarthy on the second anniversary of the president's Climate Action Plan.

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